My What?
by The Shadow Hawk
Summary: KurAna Princess and samurai dream of each other before ever meeting. Advice from friends and family doesn't help at all. When they meet under slightly different circumstances, things start to get a little clearer. Completed
1. Once Upon a Dream

_My What?_

Shadow Hearts: Covenant

By: The Shadow Hawk

Pairing: Kurando/Anastasia

Disclaimer: Just because I really want Kurando doesn't mean I really have him. I don't really want Anastasia to kick me either…

Summary: Kurando and Anastasia dream of each other before meeting, neither one knowing why. Advice from friends and family doesn't help either. When they meet under different circumstances, everything begins to make a little more sense.

* * *

_The Boat to Japan_

Yuri lay in a corner, groaning. His seasickness had completely incapacitated him. He only moved when he had to throw up. Karin was the only one willing to stay near the sick fusionist. She tried to make him as comfortable as possible despite the conditions. The others did their best to get comfortable as well. Joachim sacrificed his room to Lucia since it was too small for him and slept in the cargo area with Blanca. Gepetto had the best room since he was oldest and probably wouldn't be able to move in the morning if he slept in a regular room.

Anastasia was making herself as comfortable as possible in her little cabin. But little didn't even begin to describe her 'quarters.' She'd seen bathrooms bigger than the room she was in now. If she put her suitcase under her cot, there was just enough room to walk two steps from door to wall.

Trying to suppress a yawn, she took off her hat and placed it on top of her suitcase. There was no way she was putting it on the floor. She didn't want to think about what was on the floor. The cot was uncomfortable but it was all she had to sleep on.

Resigning herself to her uncomfortable resting place, she covered herself with the sheet, thankful it seemed clean enough, and drifted off to sleep. No sooner did she slip into unconsciousness did she begin to dream.

_She was sitting on a bed in a house she'd never seen before…no that wasn't right…she'd seen the house before, but where? A glance in a mirror showed her clothes she knew she didn't own. She also looked at least 5 years older. _

"_Wha…what is this?" She fingered the edge of her garment…what was it called? A kimono! That's what it was…but why was she wearing one?_

"_Anya? Are you here?" A far off voice filled her with a sudden joy. Someone important was home…but who? It was the voice of a man, but unlike any she'd heard before. No…that wasn't right either. She knew the voice from somewhere…_

"_In the bedroom!" The words flew loudly from her mouth before she could stop them. Immediately she got scared. She didn't know who was at the door. Why tell the strange man where she was?_

_A few moments later, her questions were answered. The door opened and a tall young man walked in. He was absolutely gorgeous, wearing dark blue pants and a top to match. They were traditional Japanese style, she knew, but she didn't know the exact name. He untied a sword from his waist and set it on a shelf next to a golden mechanical egg before coming to her._

_She smiled and jumped into his arms without really knowing what she was doing. "I missed you." She gazed deep into his ruby eyes. Ruby eyes? Like Yuri's? But this wasn't Yuri… "You were away too long."_

_He returned her hug and kissed her forehead. "I missed you as well. Next time I have to leave I would like to take you and Akiyama with. What do you think?"_

_She grinned and nodded. "It has been a while since I've been to the city. And I think Akiyama would enjoy going as well."_

"_How is he?"_

_She took his hand and led him to another room. "He missed his daddy."_

_Inside the other room, a young child, maybe two years old, was asleep in a small bed. She watched him approach the bed from the doorway._

_What was going on? Who were this man and child? Why did she know them so well? Had she met him before? No…wait…yes…in a way…he'd been in her dreams before. Not always the same age, but definitely the same person. She'd even had the dreams before she had met Yuri and the others. Why was she taking care of a child this time? Was it hers? His?_

_But these questions didn't stop her from walking over to them when the child woke up and was ecstatic to see his 'father.' She studied the child as the man spoke to him. He had black hair like the man's only streaked with cinnamon highlights…the same color as her hair…and his eyes. They were ruby colored just like his father but flecked with jade…jade like her eyes…this was her child…and his…she just knew._

"_I'll tell you more of my trip tomorrow. Go back to sleep for now." The man smiled again and put his son back to bed. The boy pouted but obeyed his father._

_He offered her his hand and they went back to their own room._

"_Did everything go alright?" She asked him quietly._

"_Yes. It was only a minor issue."_

"_I'm glad. I was afraid you would get hurt." She lowered her head a bit._

_His hand brushed her cheek. "I can't get hurt. I have to come back to you." He gently raised her chin to look into her eyes. "I love you Anya." Before she could respond he lowered his face to hers and kissed her passionately…_

Anastasia nearly fell off the cot when she woke up and sat bolt upright. The room was dark. She was alone. Her fingers rose, trembling, to her lips. That man…his kiss felt so real. But who was he, this dream man? Yuri was the only person she'd ever known with red eyes and that was definitely not Yuri. It would be really creepy to have a child with Yuri anyway.

She shivered a little. It was only a dream but it was so real. And it wasn't fading away the longer she stayed awake. The more she thought about it, the more real it seemed. Pulling her sheet around her shoulders, she got up and left the room. She quickly decided to go see Lucia. Perhaps the fortuneteller could make sense of her dream.

Lucia was still awake in her room, checking her tarot cards and oils while Karin talked about Yuri. Anastasia knocked on the door, making both women jump.

"Coming!" Lucia let the young princess in. "Hi Anastasia! Why are you up so late?"

Anastasia looked at Karin. "Was I interrupting something?"

"No. I was just talking about Yuri. He finally went to sleep." Karin moved over on the bed so that she could sit down. "You look pale. Is everything alright?"

"I…had a strange dream…and…I've had it before…but this one was the most real yet…"

The mention of dreams got Lucia interested. "Well, tell us! This could be good! Maybe it's an omen that we're all going to die!"

Anastasia and Karin gave Lucia a look. The little princess sighed. "I don't think children are a symbol of death…"

"Children? What children?" Karin looked curious.

While Anastasia told them of her dreams, Lucia rummaged around in her pack for some crystals.

"I see him all the time…sometimes we're in a house together…sometimes we're outside. He tells me he loves me a lot. And I feel like I love him when I'm with him. But I don't know his name. He knows mine but…and this time we had a child. The dreams have never gone that far." She buried her face in her hands. "Who is he?"

Lucia found a crystal globe and handed it to her. "Think about him while holding this."

A few months ago, Anastasia wouldn't have believed in Lucia's power, but now she'd seen too much not to believe. So she thought about the young man, his hair, his face, his eyes, everything. Slowly, his image began to form inside the crystal. "That's him!"

Lucia and Karin peered into the globe. He was talking to someone outside the scope of the globe. He looked at little confused. Lucia giggled. "He's handsome."

Anastasia looked at him again. He seemed younger than he had in the dream. Maybe that's how he really looked. Once or twice, he looked like that in her dreams. And he was very handsome. If he was anything like he was in her dreams, he would be nice as well. "So is there anyway to tell who he is?"

Lucia looked thoughtful for a moment. "Oh that's easy. He's your husband! Or he will be anyway."

"My what!" Anastasia shrieked and dropped the globe. It hit the ground hard, breaking in two, shattering the image of the young man. Anastasia started shouting franticly in Russian. Lucia and Karin looked at each other, confused. Karin recovered first and put her hands on the princess's shoulder.

"Anya, calm down. I'm sure Lucia was just joking." She turned to the fortuneteller. "Lucia, that's awfully mean of you. She's looking for answers. You can't joke around like that."

"I was being serious! Dreams are a serious matter! That boy will eventually be Ana's husband!"

Anastasia suddenly started laughing. It was a very bitter laugh though. "Oh, I get it. You're trying to cheer me up with this ridiculous story aren't you?" She buried her face in her hands again. "Sure…I'll fall in love with and marry some handsome stranger. That way I can forget about my lost home right? That's the kind of life fairy tale princesses lead. I'm no fairy tale princess." The depressed girl got up and ran from the room back to her own room and bolted her door.

She crumpled to the floor and started sobbing, willing herself to go to sleep and see the man again. Maybe he wasn't real, but she always felt happy when she was with him.

* * *

_Inugami Village_

Kurando lay awake in his own bed. Every time he closed his eyes, the girl was there, the young jade-eyed goddess that haunted his dreams. Sitting up in bed, he reached for something on his nightstand. His fingers found a piece of paper with a charcoal sketch on it. He'd done the sketch himself after a few nights of seeing the girl in his dreams, though he felt the simple sketch didn't do her justice.

The girl was beautiful but he had no idea who she was or why he always dreamed of her. His mother always said that people in dreams were important but he'd never seen the same person so many times in so many places. The girl was important. He already felt like he knew her, except her name though. His dreams never offered him a name.

He yawned. Sleep was coming and undoubtedly another dream of the girl. Perhaps this time he would get a name. He put the paper back on his table and settled back into bed.

_He was walking somewhere quickly, maybe to the girl. He was in his own home. He had to find her. Before he could call out to her, she called to him. It was like she knew he was there. _

"_I'm upstairs Kurando!" He quickly climbed the stairs and went to his…their room. Inside, the girl was on the bed with a baby, no more than a year or so. A strange egg buzzed above the child's head making him giggle joyfully. She laughed as the egg came back to her hand. _

_Kurando smiled. His wife and child were everything to him. Wait…wife and child? When did a child enter his dreams? They never had a child before. His relationship with his dream girl was getting more serious. _

"_Kurando! You got up here quickly." She put the egg on a table stand and greeted him with a hug. "Are the villagers alright?"_

"_Yes. It was just a stray tengu that wandered too close." He spoke without really knowing what he was talking about. Sometimes it felt like he was just a bystander in his own body. He never knew what was going on in the dream but his dreamself always knew and that was all that mattered._

_Back on the bed, the little boy was starting to yawn. _

"_Akiyama's tired. I should put him to bed." She was about to pick up the child when he stopped her. _

"_I'll do it. You look tired." _

_She laughed. "Your son is a handful, you know."_

_He chuckled softly. "So he's just my son when he's being bad, eh?" Kurando picked up the child on the bed and walked to the child's room while his wife lay back on the bed. _

_The child's room was connected to their room. While he was tucking Akiyama in, Kurando studied the child. Black hair streaked with cinnamon, ruby eyes sprinkled with jade, there was no doubt this child was his and hers. _

_The child went to sleep with very little fuss and Kurando returned to his dream girl. She looked so peaceful, asleep there. He hated to wake her but the urge to brush a few loose pieces of hair from her face was too strong…_

_When his fingers grazed her skin, she opened her eyes and smiled. "I wasn't sleeping, you know." She grabbed his hand and pulled him down to the bed._

"_You looked like you were." He leaned down and kissed her forehead._

"_I can't go to sleep as soon as you get home. That would be rude."_

"_It's alright." He shifted them in bed so that she was lying on top of him. "I'm tired too."_

_She yawned. "Maybe I am a little tired…" She looked up at him. "I love you Kurando…"_

_Just as he was about to say the same, she kissed him, preventing him from speaking. He could feel her hands run through his hair as the kiss deepened…_

Kurando woke up with a gasp. He never got used to how serious his relationship with the dream girl was. He was very close to Sayori but he'd never even kissed her. He'd never kissed anyone before. And now he was dreaming of having children with this girl he'd never meet before.

Why did the child appear this time? It had never been there before. Could it be that he would get to meet her soon?

He lay in bed for a while trying to sleep but it soon became obvious that sleep was gone.

"Never hurts to have an early start." He sighed and kicked back his blankets. Still in his night clothes, he walked to the Fountain of Sukune. Maybe it could offer some answers.

When he reached the cavern, he was shocked to find that his mother was already there standing in the middle of the pool. "Mother…what are you doing up? It's not even dawn yet…"

"I know. But I wanted to be here before you."

This confused Kurando but he knew better than to wonder about his mother. She had her secret ways. He accepted that.

"So what brings you here so early my son?" She smiled knowingly. She probably already knew the answer to that question.

Kurando knelt near the edge. "In my dreams…there is a girl…I see her often. I think we're married…in my last dream we had a child. It's never been so serious. I want to know who she is."

While Kurando spoke, the waters in the fountain shuddered. Images shifted, looking for something. Then it settled on something. He looked down and gasped.

The girl was there, talking to someone the Fountain wouldn't let him see. She seemed distressed, perhaps asking for advice from the other person or people with her.

"Is that her?" Saki smiled at the image of the young girl. Kurando could only nod. She looked fairly young but his dreams offered him no real idea of how old she was at the present time. It could be that this was the first real image of her he'd seen. "I'll take that as a yes?"

Kurando tore his eyes from the water and looked at his mother. "Who is she? Have I met her before?"

Saki laughed lightly. "You haven't met her yet, but she will come to you in a time of great need. And she will be your wife."

"My what? W-wife? B-but Sayori…" He still thought of the beautiful girl he'd known all his life. Some part of him always felt they would one day be married.

Saki's smile faded slightly. "I'm sorry Kurando, but Sayori is not a part of your future. She has her own path to follow and you have yours. And yours is with her." She gestured to the girl in the waters. "When you meet her, you will accept this more easily."

Kurando lowered his head again. It was bad enough when his mother advised him in riddles but her straight forward answers had to be the worst. He stood up after a moment. "Thank you for your advice, Mother. I'm heading to Mukyo-An today. I am not certain when Master will allow me to return for a visit."

Saki nodded. "Very well Kurando. Be careful. All is not well here in Japan."

"Yes Mother." Kurando bowed and left the cavern, contemplating his mother's words. If something was happening in the country, maybe there was a good chance this foreign girl would be part of it. People didn't just come to Japan. They had a reason. Hopefully, this girl wouldn't be on the wrong side of the trouble that seemed to be coming.

* * *

Next chapter: Kurando and Anastasia finally meet. It's already written, I just don't know when I'll post it. Nothing like being a college girl and a writer at the same time. I should so be writing papers. Review please. Reviews make the world go round. Well...not really, but they are fun. :)

The Shadow Hawk


	2. The Day I Met You

_My What?_

Shadow Hearts: Covenant

By: The Shadow Hawk

Pairing: Kurando/Anastasia

Disclaimer: Just because I really want Kurando doesn't mean I really have him. I don't really want Anastasia to kick me either…

Summary: Kurando and Anastasia dream of each other before meeting, neither one knowing why. Advice from friends and family doesn't help either. When they meet under different circumstances, everything begins to make a little more sense.

* * *

_Yokohama Brickyard_

Anastasia had remained fairly quiet after they had gotten to Japan. Yuri was still sick and prevented them from getting down to business. She sat on a barrel while the others talked about Yuri's condition. Through she didn't want to sound mean, she didn't care much about Yuri's seasickness. It would pass. Besides, she had more important things to worry about. From everything her dreams had shown, her mysterious 'husband' was Japanese. Now that she was in Japan, she wondered if she'd finally meet him and the dreams would end. Or at the very least, make a little more sense.

But then, what were the odds that the man from her dreams was in this part of Japan? Hell, what were the chances he was a real person?

A whine interrupted her thoughts. Blanca was pawing at the door.

"Hey guys, I think Blanca needs to go out." She hopped off her barrel.

"We can't leave Yuri…" Karin started.

"We don't all have to go." Anastasia answered. "I'll take him out if no one else will. I'm sick of listening to Yuri's moaning anyway."

"Now hang on there little princess." Gepetto waved his cane at her. "You can't just go wander around here at night. We don't know what's around here."

"I can take care of myself" She stuck her hand in her pocket, feeling some magic crests. "And Blanca will be with me."

"Gepetto's right. It's dangerous." Karin was always the motherly type. "I don't think you should go."

Anastasia looked at Blanca. He was really anxious to go out. "I really think he should go. You don't want him to go in here, do you?"

Joachim stood up quickly. "I'll go with them." He picked up his tuna and headed for the door. Everyone had learned not to question his choice in weapons by now. So the vampire wrestler, Russian princess and white wolf headed outside.

Blanca started to sniff around immediately. Anastasia and Joachim stood off to the side. He looked down at her. "Is everything alright?"

"Huh?" She looked up at him, confused.

"You've been very quiet lately. Especially since we were on the boat here."

"It's nothing." He gave her an 'I so don't believe you' look. "What? It's nothing. I swear!"

Joachim sighed. He wasn't stupid. Sure people thought he was, but he really wasn't. Something was bothering the young princess but she didn't want to talk about it. He was about to say something when he stopped and sniffed the air.

"What?"

"I smell blood…" His eyes flashed. Sometimes she forgot he was a vampire. He probably liked the smell of blood.

Before Anastasia could ask more, they all heard a rapid series of loud pops. Gunshots. Anastasia knew the noise. Blanca growled and got into a crouch behind some crates. Joachim grabbed Anastasia and crouched behind the same crates. Through the gaps in the crates, they saw a young man running. His steps were clumsy. He was tired, like he'd been running for a long time. He stopped to catch his breath, but that proved to be a fatal mistake.

In an instant he was surrounded by red armored soldiers carrying machine guns. Even though he took down one, the other two were still free to shoot at him. He could avoid some of the bullets but was also hit by many more. Looking at him more closely, they saw he was bleeding fairly heavily. He was probably tired because he was suffering from blood loss.

"We have to help him." Anastasia wormed her way out of Joachim's grip.

He looked shocked. "But we don't know who he is. Those soldiers could be after him for a reason…it isn't our problem."

Blanca growled. He was on Anastasia's side. He wanted to help.

For a second, Anastasia wondered why she wanted to help him but decided she could worry about that later. "Oh come on. You guys saved me without knowing what was going on."

"That wasn't the same thing…"

Her leg shot out and she nearly knocked him off his feet. "Come on, Grand Papillion. Since when was three soldiers with guns against one guy with a sword a fair fight? Even if you think he's bad news we could give him a chance to explain himself before they kill him!"

Joachim made a face. She really knew how to get to him. Every part of him did say that this fight was not fair. "Fine. We'll help."

"I'm glad you see it my way." Blanca already ran out from behind the crates and wrestled a soldier to the ground who had looked ready to fire again. The man with the sword looked on, dumbfounded. He collapsed to his knees as he heard a voice behind him.

"Hey uglies! Look this way!" He was too tired to look at the girl who shouted but her voice sounded familiar. A bright flash of light stunned the soldiers that were upon him.

The spots faded from his eyes fairly quickly, just in time to see a large man in a butterfly mask launch a soldier into the air and knock it into the horizon with a…fish? Kurando tried to shake the image from his eyes. Perhaps the pain was getting to him.

He could see a soldier approaching him as he felt darkness creep into the corners of his eyes. Hopefully, one of his strange saviors would help. He couldn't even feel his arm enough to pick up his sword.

Just as the soldier lifted his gun to smash his head in, he heard a faint buzzing. "Take this!" Something flew over his head and smashed the face guard on the soldier's helmet. Suddenly he realized it was just like the egg toy the girl from his dreams owned. It wasn't a toy. It was a weapon. Just for good measure, the egg flew upwards and came down hard back on his head. The soldier fell, unmoving, to the ground and faded away. It was thankfully the last soldier.

He turned just in time to see the egg fly back to a young girl in a blue coat and hat. She giggled as she tossed the egg up and caught it behind her back. His eyes widened momentarily. It was her, the girl from his dreams. She was finally here. This was what his mother had meant. She had come to him at a time of great need. He didn't want to think about what would have happened if she and her strange companions hadn't come. But that was the last thought he had before passing out and falling to the ground.

Anastasia ran to his side just after he lost consciousness. "Hey! Don't give up yet!" Blanca came over next and nudged the man's face with his nose. He groaned in pain but it was a good sign he was still alive. Anastasia quickly pulled out a healing crest and held it over his body. Some of the major bleeding stopped but he wasn't awake yet. "Joachim, we have to get him out of here."

"But where?" He took off his mask and put it back in his pack.

Blanca, ever the observant one, barked and ran towards some stairs. There were empty warehouses along the road. "Good boy Blanca. We'll hide in one of those until we can wake him up."

Joachim nodded and picked up the young man as if he weighed nothing at all. They all ran for the warehouse and shut the doors before any other soldiers arrived. Anastasia found some tarp and laid it over some small crates, a pitiful excuse for a bed but it would have to do. Joachim and Blanca stood off to the side while Anastasia continued her spells. In a very short amount of time, she had become an excellent crest mage and would have the best chance of helping him.

After a few tense moments, his wounds were mostly gone and he shifted on the crates. He sat up quickly, afraid that there were still soldiers around. His head swam and he groaned again. Suddenly he felt a large hand on his chest push him back to the boxes.

"Take it easy. We took care of the soldiers. You're safe." It took him a second to realize the deep voiced man spoke English.

"Thank you…" He spoke slowly, looking up at him. He was shocked to see such a large blue-eyed blonde man standing next to him. The fish he thought he had hallucinated before was lying on the ground next to his feet. Next to the fish was a white wolf with a strange mark on its forehead.

"You should thank Anastasia. She wanted to help you."

"Ana-sta-sia?" He stumbled over the foreign name.

"It's Russian." A soft girl's voice drew his attention to the side. "Some people call me Anya." She wasn't looking at him but he could see how pale she was. Whatever she had done to help him must have taken a lot out of her. "Joachim, do you have any mana roots with you? I could use one…"

He shook his head. "There's a chest in the corner. I'll go check it."

The large man walked away leaving Blanca to watch Anastasia and the man. She began to lift her head. "Are you al…right?" Her words faltered when she finally got a good look at him. Those eyes…it was him, the man from his dreams, the man Lucia claimed would be her husband. She blushed as his eyes locked with hers.

Kurando stifled a gasp when she finally looked at him. Now there was no doubt in his mind. Anastasia was his dream girl, his wife. They stared at each other in dumbfounded silence while Blanca watched. He got bored and barked, drawing their attention.

"Ah Blanca!" Anastasia pretended to sound mad but she was glad for the distraction. The man was handsome in her dreams but seemed even more gorgeous in real life. She felt like she was already falling for him. "Ummm…anyway…like I said, I'm Anastasia. This is Blanca." She gestured to her canine companion then to the corner. "Joachim is in the corner."

"My name is Kurando." He bowed his head slightly to her. "Thank you again. You saved my life." He smiled. She was cute and brave. He was already attracted to her.

Her blush deepened. "It wasn't a fair fight." Anastasia turned away from him, looking for Joachim. When she saw what he was doing, she let out a distressed moan. "Joachim!" Though once again, she was thankful for the distraction. Joachim's strange antics always lightened the mood wherever they went.

Kurando carefully stood up and saw the large man crouched near a discarded pillar in the back of the warehouse. He was about to ask what he was doing when Joachim started to speak.

"Hmmm…nice pillar…" He picked up the stone structure like it was nothing. Kurando was shocked. It took at least four strong men to pick up a pillar like that normally.

"Joachim! This is so not the time for this!"

Her words fell on deaf ears and he began to go on about the story of the house where the pillar had once been. Kurando watched, slightly amused as Anastasia covered her face with one hand and groaned. "I can't believe he's doing this now! The tuna was bad enough!"

"Tuna?" Kurando raised an eyebrow. He really hadn't been hallucinating. The strange man in rose bondage fought with a fish and now was going to take up an old pillar. He made a mental note that he didn't think today could get any weirder.

Anastasia moaned, embarrassed at her friend's habits. "Joachim tends to make weapons out of anything. He doesn't have much of a problem taking things that don't belong to him!" She yelled the last sentence in his general direction.

"Is…is he crying?" Kurando cocked his head in confusion. This day could get weirder. What kind of people did Anastasia associate with?

"Don't ask. Just don't ask…" She sighed as Joachim picked up the pillar and turned to face them.

"Were you saying something Anastasia?"

"No…don't worry about it…" She rolled her eyes at him and turned back to Kurando. "Why were those soldiers after you? Are you in trouble?" For the first time she remembered that she knew nothing about him.

He took a deep breath. "Don't concern yourself with me. I can handle things from here."

"Grrrr…awooo!" ("You didn't do a very good job with the last ones!")

"Blanca!" Joachim and Anastasia glared at the wolf.

"Whimper" (Well…it's true…") Blanca backed off slightly

Kurando blinked in confusion. "Have I missed something here?"

"Blanca was being rude. I'm not totally sure what he said, but it wasn't nice. I haven't totally learned how to understand him yet." Anastasia gave Blanca a light knock on the head.

Blanca shook his head as if to say 'You know I'm right.'

Kurando shook his head, unsure if this was really happening to him or he passed out from pain earlier and was now having a strange dream. How could things possibly get any stranger? But then, perhaps he shouldn't ask. His dream girl had finally appeared along with a strangely intelligent wolf and a large man who certainly couldn't be considered normal. Was this really happening?

Anastasia turned to Kurando after shaking her head at Blanca again. "Please tell us what's going on. We're already involved. We might as well know what's happening."

Kurando considered this for a moment. "I suppose you are correct. Those soldiers are after my teacher. They believe him to be a threat to their plans. I don't know much else but the man has been like a father to me. I will not allow them to capture him."

Anastasia nodded. "Then we'll help. Maybe he can help us find someone afterwards."

"I'm sure he'll try." The small group headed for the door. "I lost track of my master and his daughter south of here. I hope they are alright."

"I'm sure they're fine. The soldiers were chasing you not him. But we'll hurry." Anastasia smiled at him. Kurando felt like someone knocked the wind out of him when she looked at him. Real life was better than dreams could ever hope to be.

The small group led by Kurando ran through the brick warehouses. Luckily, they didn't have to run far before finding two people, an older man and small girl, surrounded by more red soldiers.

"Master! Princess!" Kurando shouted, drawing everyone's attention. The soldiers turned their attention from their captives and turned on the newcomers. Gunshots went off almost constantly. Blanca's howl rang out into the night before ghostly wolves appeared and joined the fight. Joachim and Kurando backed the soldiers into a corner at the request of Anastasia. When the group was sufficiently close, Anastasia pulled something out of her coat.

"Pendulum! I summon you!" She tossed the monster photograph. It grew substantially before it hit the ground. When it touched the ground a vicious beast came forth. Kurando looked on in shock as Joachim put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright. Anastasia can make certain monsters do her bidding after she takes their pictures. It's a strange talent of hers but it comes in handy."

The monster roared, causing water to seep up from the ground and practically drown the already weak soldiers. Anastasia giggled as she tossed her egg up in the air and caught it behind her just like the last time she defeated a soldier.

Everyone was quiet after the battle until the little girl noticed Blanca. "What a pretty doggy!" She ran up to Blanca and began to pet him. Blanca seemed taken aback at first but then enjoyed the attention. "He looks like a big snowball. Can I call him Snowball?" Blanca looked taken aback but Anastasia rubbed his head.

"Let it go boy. You can be Snowball for a little while." She laughed as Blanca gave a somewhat resigned doggy sigh but changed his tune as soon as the little girl began to scratch him behind the ears.

The old man looked at Kurando. "Well, well, you came at a good time. And you seem to have made some new friends, Kurando."

He nodded. "They saved my life."

Anastasia curtsied to the old man. "My name is Anastasia. A lot of people call me Anya. This is Joachim. And the attention hog over there is Blanca." She laughed as Blanca rolled over onto his back, begging for a tummy rub from the little girl.

"Anastasia? That's a Russian name isn't it?" She nodded. "You're a long way from home."

Anastasia suddenly felt a bit nervous. Could this old man know she was the supposedly missing princess? "Things happen. I enjoy traveling as well." She lowered her head, hoping he would drop the subject.

He seemed to understand that the subject was currently somewhat of a taboo with the young girl. "Ah, where are my manners? I've been rude. My name is Naniwa Kawashima. And my daughter is Yoshiko. Thank you for your assistance."

"Would you mind if we asked what that was all about?"

Naniwa shook his head. "It's all a matter of politics. Not an interesting subject for you young people." Joachim was about to say something when they all heard voices and the clunk of armor.

"More?" Anastasia looked worried.

"I'll go look." Joachim suddenly disappeared. "Shouldn't take long."

Kurando nearly had a heart attack when Joachim's voice came from out of nowhere. "Wh-what was that?"

"That was Joachim." Anastasia answered casually, forgetting Kurando didn't know what Joachim was.

"What is he?" He looked a little nervous.

"A vampire." She remarked just as casually. "He's okay really. He does get a little obnoxious when he turns into a bat though."

Before Kurando could say anything, Anastasia held her hand up. Joachim was back. "There aren't many but it will be difficult to manage if we have to worry about Mr. Kawashima and Yoshiko."

Anastasia nodded. "Blanca, go with Joachim and start in on them. Kurando, you should get them out of here. We'll take care of these ones." Blanca and Joachim went back to the fight.

"What? You don't have to…"

"It's okay. We're used to this."

"It's not your fight."

"Let's just say you owe us this one time."

Naniwa stopped Kurando from protesting again. "We will be in the city for a few days. I hope we will see you again."

Anastasia nodded. "As soon as Yuri gets better, we'll head into the city." After that, she ran to join her friends, crest and egg in hand.

Naniwa looked at Kurando, standing there, watching Anastasia run. "Kurando, we should go."

He jerked to attention. "Yes sir…"

They began to hurry out of the warehouse district. Kurando kept looking over his shoulder. "Something wrong?"

"I don't think I should have left them…they didn't have to do this…"

"It's not just that is it Kurando? That girl. You were staring at her the entire time."

Kurando blushed ever so slightly. "I was?"

Yoshiko giggled. "'Rando has a girlfriend!

"It's not like that!" Now he was really blushing.

Yoshiko laughed again and ran ahead chanting, "'Rando has a girlfriend! 'Rando has a girlfriend!"

Kurando lowered his head as they walked. Naniwa looked at him carefully after Yoshiko was out of earshot. "She is not completely wrong, is she? I've never seen you react to a girl that way."

"I…she…that is…I don't know…" He shook his head. "Do you remember the dreams I told you about? About the woman who was my wife and the child?"

"Yes. Those were interesting dreams."

"Anya was that woman…she is the one my mother said would be my wife…"

"Are you certain?"

"Absolutely. I saw her and I just knew."

"Interesting. Do you think she knows?"

"No…she reacted strangely when she first looked at me but I doubt she's had dreams like mine and had someone tell her we'd be married."

"Well, I suppose this is just something that will have to play itself out, won't it?"

He nodded. "I suppose so…" Kurando turned back one last time before leaving the area with his teacher and Yoshiko.

Blanca wagged his tail as the last solider went down. Anastasia took for her hat for a moment and wiped her forehead. Joachim took a quick look around. They were finally free of soldiers.

"Well, should we head back to the warehouse where the others are?" Joachim picked up his newly acquired weapon.

Anastasia was looking back towards the exit to the warehouses. "I hope they got out okay…"

"What?"

Her head jerked up. "Huh?"

"Should we go?"

"Uh…yeah…maybe Yuri's better now…" She saw Joachim looking at her in confusion. "What?"

"Why did you want to help him?"

"He didn't seem like a bad guy…" She tried to shrug it off like it was nothing.

He was quiet for a moment as they walked. "Oh I get it now…"

"You get what?"

"You like him. Must be love at first sight." He chuckled.

Anastasia blushed. "What gave you that idea?"

"Just the way you acted around him."

"Oh you…shut up!" With that, she kicked him incredibly hard in the back of the knee and ran when he fell to the ground with a groan.

* * *

Final chapter – Kurando and Anastasia meet again in Yokohama.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed. You're awesome. Just makes you feel good when you see that number go up on the stat page. Again, next chapter's done but there's always the question of when I get to post it. Woo college!

The Shadow Hawk


	3. Looking Towards the Future

_My What?_

Shadow Hearts: Covenant

By: The Shadow Hawk

Pairing: Kurando/Anastasia

Disclaimer: Just because I really want Kurando doesn't mean I really have him. I don't really want Anastasia to kick me either…

Summary: Kurando and Anastasia dream of each other before meeting, neither one knowing why. Advice from friends and family doesn't help either. When they meet under different circumstances, everything begins to make a little more sense.

* * *

_Road to Yokohama_

Early the next morning, the group started on the road to the main streets of town. It was a beautiful spring day that provided the perfect weather for walking. It was a good thing the weather was good because no one really knew where they were going. Joachim and Anastasia didn't mention what happened the night before to anyone though. They were both hoping it wasn't anything that would concern them in the future.

Anastasia hung near the back of the group as they walked. She couldn't help but wonder if they would see Kurando again. She wasn't sure how big of a city Yokohama was. There was always a chance that they wouldn't wander to wherever he was. But on the other hand, she hadn't thought she'd meet the man from her dreams the first night she was in Japan and she had. Anastasia was coming to find that it was safest to assume the strangest.

Lucia and Karin noticed the princess hanging back and slowed down to walk with her. Lucia tapped her on the shoulder. "Anya, are you okay? You're not dying are you?"

Anastasia rolled her eyes. "No. I was just thinking…"

"Is there anything we can help with?" Karin, once again being the motherly type, asked the little princess.

"Well…ah…last night…something happened…"

"You mean when you and Joachim took Blanca out?"

"Yeah…" Anastasia watched the ground as they walked. "Remember those dreams I told you about on the boat? With that guy?"

"Yeah…" Both women looked intrigued.

"I met him last night…I didn't get the chance to talk to him long but at least I learned his name…"

Lucia smiled brightly. "So who is he? Was it love at first sight? When are you getting married?"

Anastasia blushed. "Lucia! I don't think it works that fast…his name is Kurando…he's even better looking in real life than he was in my dreams." She added with a smile. "But he was attacked last night. We helped him out before these weird soldiers got him."

"Soldiers? Anya, we shouldn't be getting into other people's business." Karin frowned. They were having enough problems of their own without adding someone else's.

"Well, I couldn't let them kill him, not until I heard his story…which I'm still not sure I understand…but he's very kind…he was also with a little girl and her elderly father. Since when was it fair to take automatic weapons and go after defenseless people?"

"Well…if there was a child around…I suppose I can't blame you for helping out." The frown disappeared from Karin's face as she decided to accept what they did the night before.

"Enough about that. I want to know more about him." Lucia pouted. "Tell us more!"

"There isn't much to tell. I only really saw him in battle…he's a good swordsman. He seems pretty patient…uh…he's like the opposite of Yuri…"

Yuri perked up at the sound of his name. "Hey, you girls talkin' about me?"

"Yeah. We're talking about what an idiot you are!" Anastasia yelled back to him.

Yuri glared back at them when Lucia and Karin laughed at him. "Ah…bite me."

"Oh, there's the comeback of the century!" Anastasia rolled her eyes and laughed as Yuri got even more pissed off than he already was and stalked off, furthering the distance between himself and them.

Blanca was walking near the girls until he caught a whiff of something familiar. He stopped for a moment to investigate. Anastasia stopped when she noticed the wolf stop. "Blanca?"

"Snowball!" A high-pitched shout from down the street drew everyone's attention.

Joachim wasn't too far from the girls and he looked to see who shouted. "Yoshiko?"

"Anya?" A small distance behind Yoshiko, Kurando nearly tripped when he saw the blue-coated girl.

"Kurando?" Her eyes widened in shock. They'd barely been in town and already ran into the small group.

Yoshiko ran to see Blanca before Kurando could stop her. Naniwa frowned. Something was not right. From out of nowhere, a black car came screaming down the road. Yuri dove on top of Karin when the shots started coming out of the back window. Everyone else ran for cover. Blanca ran after the car after someone jumped out and grabbed Yoshiko. From behind her cover, Anastasia was positive she saw Kurando get hit. "Kurando…"

No one dared move until the car was out of sight. Anastasia was the first one up and she ran across the street. "Mr. Kawashima, are you alright?"

"Yes…I'm fine. You had better have that large friend of yours bring Kurando inside though." He nodded to the young man's motionless body.

In a blur of motion, everyone ran inside. Joachim put Kurando in a back bedroom. Anastasia and Lucia went with them for their healing talents. The bullet hit Kurando in a critical area. They would have to do a good job if he was going to be alright. Lucia mixed some oils while Anastasia cast some curing spells. She hated to hear him groan in pain as his body started to heal. She brought him out of the critical stage and decided to let his body heal on its own.

Once satisfied he would be alright, they left the room to let him sleep. Yuri looked up when the two women walked into the front room. "Is the kid gonna be okay?"

Lucia crossed one arm across her chest and perched her elbow in her palm to that she could tap one finger against her cheek. "I don't know…it was a pretty bad gunshot wound."

Naniwa chuckled. "I know Kurando doesn't look like much but he'll be fine. The boy is stronger than he looks."

Kurando slept for a long time while Naniwa told the others about what was going on. Anastasia constantly looked at the door Kurando was behind. Lucia noticed the young princesses concern and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Anya, why don't you go fill the oil diffuser in Kurando's room? It's probably low by now." She offered the girl a glass bottle of mixed oils.

"O-okay…I'll do that…" She took the bottle and excused herself from the conversation. When she walked over to the oil diffuser, she found it nearly full. Lucia just gave her an excuse to go into his room. She smiled. Like Joachim, the fortuneteller was much smarter than she let on.

Anastasia walked over to the sleeping samurai. He slept silently, showing no obvious signs of being in pain. She blushed as she looked him over. He was only wearing his pants and the bandages across his well-toned chest. Timidly, she pulled back the bandage to check the healing progress.

While she was checking, Kurando began to wake up. He shifted slightly, letting her know he was up. Her hands jerked away from the bandages. He carefully sat up and rubbed his blurry eyes. "Anya?"

"Welcome back. You've been asleep the better part of today." She turned her eyes to the ground, trying not to stare. She could feel her face heating up as her cheeks turned a darker shade of red.

He looked a little confused. At first, he couldn't remember why he was all bandaged up in his master's home then it came back to him. "Someone took the princess…and shot me…"

She nodded. "Mr. Kawashima thinks they took her as a hostage. He doesn't think they'll hurt her but he is worried."

Kurando swung his legs over the edge. "Then I have to go find her."

"There are two good reasons why you can't." She lightly poked him in the chest. He winced ever so slightly. "First, you're still recovering. You don't need to run out and get shot again." She sighed. "And second, we don't know where they took her. Blanca went after the car but he's not back yet. I'm sure he'll come back when he's found something."

Kurando let out a defeated sigh. He knew she was right. "I suppose so…" He touched the bandages over his chest and looked up at her. "Should I thank you again for saving my life?"

She shook her head. "I had help again. Joachim brought you in here and Lucia, another friend of mine, helped patch you up. Just promise me you won't get yourself shot again. Twice in less than a day is not a good figure, you know?"

He smiled as he stood up. "Yes…that's very true." Much to her surprise, he knelt to take her hand and kissed it. "But thank you for saving me last night and today. I don't know what would have happened if you and your friends hadn't been there."

Her cheeks turned a dark shade of red and she let out a nervous giggled when he looked up at her through his messy bangs. Her mind couldn't form any coherent sentences when she looked into his eyes. She felt like she could stare into his eyes for the rest of eternity and always be happy. His eyes were very much like Yuri's but also completely different.

They didn't know how long they stayed like that but Anastasia was the first one to move. "Ah…I should tell everyone you're up. Maybe Blanca's back by now…"

Kurando nodded as she scurried from the room. Now he understood his mother's words. He was beginning to accept and the idea of marrying Anastasia and spending the rest of his life with her. She was sweet and he already felt so close to her due to his dreams. He would have liked to have known if she had dreams like his but he knew there was no easy or tactful way to ask if she had dreams in which they were married with a child. Things would just have to play themselves out.

He put his shirt back on and exited the room, curious to see what kind of people Anastasia associated with. Nothing really could have prepared him for the people he saw when he opened the door. Two fairly scantily clad women with talking with Anastasia, Joachim was leaning against the wall, a man old enough to be his grandfather was brushing the hair of an incredibly lifelike puppet and a somewhat Japanese looking man with distinct red eyes was lying on the floor, seemingly bored. The people Anastasia traveled with were stranger than he thought they'd be.

All eyes turned to Kurando as he was looking around. Naniwa smiled. "Ah Kurando. You're finally up. You should thank these people for their help."

"Yes…of course…" He bowed somewhat awkwardly. "Thank you very much. I owe you my life."

Yuri sat up and shrugged. "We didn't do much, just dragged your unconscious ass in here."

"Yuri!" Karin whacked him hard in the head with her sheathed sword. "You have no manners what so ever!"

Yuri yelped in pain and swore in Japanese. Kurando raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Anastasia for help. She just smiled and shrugged.

Before the conversation could continue Blanca appeared in the doorway. Lucia noticed him first. "Look! Blanca's back and he's got something." Blanca walked forward and put something on the step. Karin, Yuri, Anastasia and Kurando leaned in to look at it.

"This belongs to the princess. Did you find her, Blanca?" Kurando picked up the colorful comb and wiped it off with his sleeve.

Blanca wagged his tail. "Awoo! Arf!" ("Yes, I found her! Let's go!")

"Well, Blanca's found her. Let's go get her." Yuri stood up.

"You really don't have to do this…" Kurando started but Naniwa stopped him.

"Now Kurando, don't be ungrateful. It's not a one person job. I'd feel better if you went with them. A group can accomplish more than one." Naniwa's words were stern but Kurando knew he was right.

"Yes…of course. Thank you again."

"We should buy some more equipment, then we'll find your daughter, sir." Karin stood up, ready to leave.

"Be careful. While I do not believe they will kill her, I am extremely worried."

The group nodded and started to leave Naniwa's home. Anastasia and Kurando were the last ones inside. He looked over at her.

"Anya?"

"I'll be there in a minute. I wanted to ask Mr. Kawashima something."

Kurando hesitated but Naniwa shooed him out. "Something the matter Miss Anastasia?"

"I hope we don't get in trouble when we rescue your daughter but traveling with Yuri…there's a good chance so…" She pulled some papers out of a pocket in the inside of her coat. "These should get us out of any sort of trouble."

Naniwa looked at the papers he was handed. "A good will ambassador?"

She nodded. "My father gave them to be for traveling."

"So you are Princess Anastasia Romanov…"

"You knew?" She cringed a little.

"I wasn't positive but I had a feeling last night. I've heard enough of world politics to know who you are. I would like to know why a Russian princess is traveling around the world with a group like yours."

She sighed. "It's a long story…I'll tell you about it when we find your daughter."

He smiled. "Well then, I look forward to your quick return."

Anastasia nodded and ran outside. The group was waiting for her. Yuri looked annoyed. "What were you doing in there?"

"None of your business. Don't worry about it." Very casually, she walked over to Blanca. "Okay boy, let's go find your friend."

Yuri growled. "What a royal pain in the-ow!" Once again, Karin hit him in the head, this time just with her hand

"Yuri, I swear you are so immature." Karin shook her head. Anastasia glanced over her shoulder and smirked.

Yuri rubbed the back of his head and glanced at Kurando. "She may look all cute and innocent but I swear she a little demon. Don't let her fool you."

Kurando smiled, humoring Yuri. "I'll keep that in mind."

And with that, the group of eight mismatched travelers headed off to find Yoshiko Kawashima.

* * *

_Foreigner's Cemetery_

Yuri led the group to the Foreigner's Cemetery. "So…I wonder where that samurai kid went. It was rude of him to just run off like that."

"Oh lay off Yuri. He went with us to find Yoshiko. It's not like he decided to join us on our 'Save the World' quest." Anastasia snapped at him. She wasn't about to let Yuri insult the man she was developing a huge crush on.

"I'm just saying it was rude of him to run off as soon as we got her out of there."

"He had to go back with Mr. Kawashima. It's not a big deal. He'll probably be here today anyway."

The group headed further into the cemetery when suddenly a sharp, cold wind forced everyone to close their eyes and shield their faces momentarily.

"What the hell was that?" Yuri looked up first. "What the hell is this?" One by one, everyone looked around in shock. This wasn't the cemetery anymore. They were standing on a stone platform that looked like it was suspended in midair. No one wanted to think about the consequences of falling off were.

Anastasia let out a gasp when she looked around. "Kurando!"

The group turned to see the young man lying unconscious on the ground. She was about to run to check on him when Gepetto held her back by the arm. "Now hang on just a minute there. Something's not right…"

Almost as if on cue, a thick mist seemed to cover the man's body, completely obscuring him from the group. He let out a cry of pain that reached the group and the mist began to part. But in his place, a beautiful, pale golden woman floated inches above the ground. She stared at them from underneath a feathered headdress. With a flick of her wrist, the golden ring that surrounded her rose above her head in a threatening manner.

The group scattered when the golden woman launched the ring into their midst. Blanca growled softly. The woman smelled vaguely familiar to him. Karin drew her sword and stared her down. "Who are you and what have you done with Kurando?"

The woman again said nothing, just threw her ring at Karin. While the others fought, Anastasia couldn't find it in herself to attack the golden woman. She stayed in back and just cast healing and status spells. Something about her seemed familiar.

The battle was going badly. One by one, the golden woman had managed to knock out the group until only Yuri, Blanca and Anastasia were up. While Yuri stopped for a moment to give Blanca some herbs, the woman turned her attention to Anastasia. The young princess stood frozen with the woman looming over her. The ring hovered in the air, but it did not come down.

The woman peered at her curiously. _"I know you…"_ Her voice echoed in her mind.

"_Who…who are you?" _Anastasia couldn't find the words but the woman seemed to understand.

"_I am Tsukiyomi…Kurando's guardian spirit."_

"_Where is Kurando?"_

"_I'm here…" _Kurando's voice found its way into her mind but it seemed so far away. _"We share a body…"_

"_You're a harmonixer…" _It made sense. While they were fighting the soldiers the previous day, she had offered him some crests but he had declined saying he had other ways of defeating the soldiers. She vaguely wondered if their battles with the soldiers had lasted any longer, would he have transformed then?

"_Yes…but not a very experienced one…how do you know about fusions, Anya?"_

"_Yuri is a harmonxier too."_

"_Anya?" _Tsukiyomi interrupted their mental conversation. _"She is the one you dream about?"_

Anastasia blushed. _"What dreams?"_

"_I will try to explain later…" _Kurando sounded embarrassed.

"Hey! Get away from her!" Anastasia's head snapped up just in time to see Yuri charge at Tsukiyomi and knock her far from the young girl.

"Yuri! No!" Yuri was beyond listening though. He continued his attack on the moon goddess. "Stop it!"

Tsukiyomi was strong but not enough to handle a berserk Yuri. She fell to her knees, weakened by his sudden attacks. He raised his claws, ready to strike the final blow when Anastasia grabbed him by the belt and pulled as hard as she could.

"Yuri! Stop hurting Kurando!" She was nearly in tears.

The mention of the young man seemed to being him back to sanity. "What? Kurando?"

"Kurando's a harmonixer like you! Tsukiyomi is his guardian! Stop attacking them!" By this time, the other party members were recovering and coming over to find out what was going on.

On the ground, Tsukiyomi began to shake. Anastasia ran around Yuri and knelt next to the wounded goddess. Tsukiyomi cried out in pain and disappeared in a bright flash of light. When it was dim enough to look, Kurando was the one kneeling on the ground. He mumbled something that sounded like an apology and slumped over into Anastasia's waiting arms.

"Let's pitch some tents and let him rest." Karin nudged Joachim who once again, picked up Kurando and transferred him inside a tent once they were up.

Yuri looked at the younger man curiously. "Man…I didn't think there was anyone else who could fuse. Damn…guess that means I'm not special anymore."

"You're just special in a different way." Anastasia rolled her eyes and walked into the tent Kurando was in.

"Yeah…I guess I am…HEY!" The others just laughed as Yuri sat down and fumed again.

Inside, Anastasia knelt next to the sleeping samurai. He seemed at peace now, not like he had been when they first brought him inside. He seemed to have been in more pain when he initially changed back to himself. Anastasia briefly wondered if maybe he had just learned how to fuse. But Yuri looked like he was in pain sometimes when he fused so there was a good chance it just went with the harmonixer's territory.

She brushed his hair away from his face, making him stir. Slowly he opened his ruby eyes and focused on the girl hovering over him. "Anya…"

"Are you alright?"

He reached and rubbed his head. "What hit me?"

"Yuri." She gave him a small smiled. "He gets a little overzealous sometimes…"

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" He looked worried. He couldn't forgive himself if he had lost total control and gone after her.

"No…you didn't. Everyone else is okay too. What happened?"

"I…I think it was the shift into this strange place…Tsukiyomi saw everything as a threat and took it upon herself to protect me…" He sat up slowly. "You…you don't seem to be bothered by the transformation."

"I'm not." She offered him a bottle of water. "Yuri does it too. His fusions are a lot scarier too. And after all that's happened to me recently, nothing surprises me anymore…"

He gratefully drank from the offered bottle. "You'll have to tell me about your adventures someday then."

"If you come with us, I'm sure the opportunity will present itself. And you might learn to control your fusions better if you're with us too. From what Karin's told me, Yuri's only gotten stronger since this whole adventure began."

"Maybe I will go with you then. My mother said something was wrong here…I guess this just proves her right…"

They sat in silence until Anastasia found the courage to speak. "Hey Kurando?"

"Yes?"

"What was Tsukiyomi talking about when she mentioned some dreams?"

Kurando felt his face get slightly warm. He had no idea how to explain what happened without thinking Anastasia would find him to be, at best, weird or, at worst, a pervert of some kind. On the other hand, he rationalized, if she totally rejected him, he would never have to see her again after leaving this place. He made no promises to stay. So he took a deep breath. "I saw you in my dreams for weeks before I met you…I think we were married…"

She was shocked into silence. So she wasn't the only one! More importantly, she wasn't insane. It took a while to form a coherent though but when she did, it just tumbled out of her mouth. "Akiyama…" She whispered softly, so soft she almost missed herself saying it..

Kurando's head jerked up when his mind registered the mention of the dream child. "What?"

She timidly looked at him. "You were in my dreams before I even met Yuri and the others…sometimes we were married, sometimes not…a few nights before we met…we had a child named Akiyama…"

"The child was in my dreams as well."

They sat in silence, neither knowing what to say. They were both afraid of what the other would think of what friends and family had said.

"What does it mean?" Anastasia finally shattered the silence.

"My mother gave me one possibility. I don't know if I can believe it though."

Anastasia lowered her eyes to the ground. "Lucia told me something too…I wasn't sure if I should believe her either…"

"What did she say?" When Anastasia was unresponsive, Kurando brushed her cheek with his gloved hand. His touch was still warm despite the cloth between their skin. "Anya?"

"I don't know if I should say…you'll think it's strange…"

"Even if it is, Lucia was the one who said it, not you right?"

"True…I still don't know…"

"I'll tell you what my mother said about my dreams. I'm sure it'll be just as strange as what Lucia said, if not stranger…"

"I don't know about that…" Anastasia took off her hat and smoothed down her hair. "But…Lucia said that the dreams are a sign that you and I would get married…crazy huh?" She laughed nervously, trying to make a joke of it. "Sometimes I wonder how good a fortuneteller she really is…"

"Probably a very good one…" Kurando mused, not looking at her. "My mother said the same thing. I've learned not to take my mother's predictions lightly…"

Anastasia blushed again. "You…you believe it then?"

"I…I'm not totally sure what to believe…but I would very much like to find out if there is anything to her words…"

The young princes looked up and lost herself in the samurai's eyes. "I…I would too."

Kurando smiled. "Then I look forward to our future and whatever it happens to hold for us." He leaned forward, meaning only to kiss her on the cheek but a bark from Blanca outside caused Anastasia to jerk her head and Kurando's lips landed on hers. They were both a little surprised by the accidental kiss but neither one pulled away for the moment.

It wasn't a long kiss. Neither tried to deepen it. Both were too timid to try anything else. But it was the first of many that were to come later.

They separated after a moment. Both were slightly flushed. Anastasia swallowed hard. "You should get some more rest. I'll see what made Blanca bark."

Kurando nodded and watched her scurry from the tent, egg in hand. He smiled and picked up the hat she'd left behind. _'What were the odds,' _he mused to himself, '_that the first girl I'd ever kissed will also be the one I spend the rest of my life with?'

* * *

_

Okay, this was my 2nd Shadow Hearts fic. I hope everyone liked it. Or at least didn't hate it.  And yes I know I skipped the Battleship and a few other things but I couldn't think of anything else to add there so I just went to the Foreigner's Cemetery. I think I'll be posting one more KurAna one shot, unrelated to this one. It sort of fits in with the game…It'll probably be up next weekend.

-The Shadow Hawk


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